Little East preseason field hockey poll released

Aug 27, 2009

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The Little East Conference
pre-season field hockey coaches' poll has been released and
Plymouth State University has been picked to finish second among 12
schools in this year's race. The votes were cast by the
conference's head coaches, and the poll was released by LEC
Commissioner Jonathan Harper.

The Panthers, who tied for second in last year's standings and
advanced to the LEC title game, received one first-place vote and
128 points in this year's poll. Three-time defending regular
season and tournament champion Keene State College earned the top
spot in the poll, receiving nine of 12 top votes and 139
points. UMass Dartmouth, which tied Plymouth State for second
in the conference last season, got two top votes and finished
third in the balloting, just behind PSU, and Southern Maine was
picked fourth in this year's poll.

The next four spots in the poll included Westfield State,
Bridgewater State, Worcester State and Salem State, with the bottom
four slots taken up by Framingham State, Fitchburg State, Eastern
Connecticut and Western Connecticut.

PSU, which also advanced to the ECAC New England Tournament
championship game last fall, finished with a 15-8 overall
record. Led by 10th-year head coach Bonnie
Lord, the Panthers open this year's schedule on Saturday,
Sept. 5, at Endicott College, with the home opener slated for
Wednesday, Sept. 9, against Castleton State College.

The LEC field hockey schedule includes one regular season game
against the other 11 schools. The conference tournament,
which includes the top eight teams, is the first week in November,
with the LEC champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA
Division III Tournament.

The complete Little East Conference field hockey preseason poll is
listed below: